Brevity List

Introduction

In air combat, being concise is key. Seconds can be the difference between life and death. Consequently, various terms over the years have been established to convey greater meanings, while also saving those precious seconds on the airwaves.

While this is not a definitive list of code-words and terms used in aerial combat, these are the major code-words that should be understood.

Mission Brevity

Brevity codewords used in the administration and conduct of a mission.

Mission Brevity
Code-word	Meaning
As Fragged	Unit performing mission as briefed.
Bent	System is broken.
Bingo	Fuel state needed for recovery at HOME PLATE.
Blind	No visual contact with friendly aircraft / ground position.
BRAA	Point out using Bearing, Range, Altitude, Aspect. Relative from friendly fighter to target.
Bullseye (B/E)	Fixed point in the battlespace from which references are given.
Buster	Set max continuous power (mil power).
Chicks	Admin term to denote friendly aircraft.
Clean	No sensor info on group of interest / No visible battle damage / No external stores.
Commit	Directive to intercept the group of interest.
Cons	Contrails.
Faded	Sensor data is lost on group or contact.
Feet wet / dry	Flying over water / land.
Fence in / out	Set cockpit switches as appropriate before entering / exiting the combat area.
Gadget	RADAR / Emitter equipment.
Gate	Set max speed, including afterburner.
Home Plate	Home airfield / ship.
Joker	Fuel state above bingo, bug out / RTB should be initiated.
Judy	Aircrew has taken over control of the intercept.
Midnight	C2 sensors are unavailable. Opposite of SUNRISE.
No Factor	Not a threat.
No Joy	Aircrew does not have visual contact with the target / bandit.
Pigeons	Magnetic bearing and range to HOMEPLATE.
Playtime	Amount of time that aircraft can remain aloft.
Posit	Request for friendly position, either in reference to B/E or other fixed location.
Push	Switch to designated frequency.
Saunter	Fly at speed of best endurance.
Sick	System is operational, but degraded.
Snap	Directive to expedited turn to desired heading / Fighter request for BRAA to indicated group.
Status	Request for an individual's / group's tactical situation.
Sunrise	C2 Sensors are available. Opposite of MIDNIGHT.
Tally	Sighting of target, enemy aircraft or position.
Uniform	UHF / AM radio.
Victor	VHF / AM radio.
Visual	Sighting of a friendly aircraft or position. Opposite of BLIND.
What luck	Request for results on mission / task.
What state	Request for amount of fuel and missiles remaining.

Tactical Brevity

Brevity code-words found in tactical scenarios, either air to air (A/A) or air to ground (A/G) engagements.

Tactical Brevity
Code-word	Meaning	Comm Example
Abort	Cease action / attack.
Active	Referenced emitter is radiating at the stated location.	"Magic, 2 Active bullseye 0-9-0, 25"
Alpha Check	Request for bullseye check.
Anchor	Directive to orbit specific point.	"Uzi 11, Magic, anchor Anapa"
Arizona	No anti-radiation ordnance remaining.
Asleep	Referenced emitter is no longer radiating at the stated location.
Azimuth	Direction to threat / picture label describing two groups separated laterally.	"Magic, new picture, two groups azimuth 10, track east, south group bullsye 3-6-0, 10, 20 000 hostile, north group bullseye 0-1-0, 21, 30 000, hostile"
Bandit	GROUP is confirmed as enemy, has not reached engagement criteria.	"Magic, lead group bullseye 2-7-0, 40, 20 000, bandit, two contacts, flank north west"
Beam	GROUP is travelling perpendicular to friendly fighters path, enemy version of notching. Used as a fill in on BRAA and B/E calls.	"Uzi 11, Magic, threat BRAA 1-8-0, 15, 15 000, hostile, beam North"
Birds	Friendly surface to air missiles.
Blind	No visual contact with friendly aircraft / ground position.	"2s Blind!"
Blow Through	Directive to continue straight ahead at the merge.
Bogey	GROUP is of unknown identity.
Broke Lock	Loss of RADAR / IR lock on.	"Uzi 11 broke lock, shot trashed"
Buddy Lock	RADAR locked to a known friendly aircraft.
Buddy Spike	Friendly RADAR lock-indications on RWR.	"Uzi 11 buddy spike, Hornet, 20 000, track north"
Bugout	Separation from engagement with no intent to reengage / return.	"Uzis, bugout west"
Champagne	Picture label with three groups, two seperated in Azimuth in the leading edge, and another seperate group trailing.	"Magic, three group champagne, 20 wide, 20 deep, track west, north lead group bullseye 0-6-6, 66, 20 000 hostile, trail group 0-8-4, 70, 25 000 hostile, trail group 29 000, hostile"
Cold	To flow away from the engagement.
Defensive / Defending	Aircraft is under attack, maneuvering defensively, and unable to ensure deconfliction and mutual support	"Stroke 3 defending 6"
Delouse	Directive to detect, ID, and engage (if required) unknown platform trailing friendly.	"Uzi 12, delouse Uzi 11, snap 0-9-0"
Dirt	RWR indications of surface threat in search mode. See MUD and SINGER.	"Uzi 11, dirt 8"
Down	Referenced emitter has stopped emitting at stated location.
Drag	Track direction of a GROUP, similar to COLD in that the group is flowing away from the fight. Used as a fill in on BRAA and B/E calls.	"Magic, lead group maneuver, drag east"
Engaged	Friendly fighter is being engaged by hostile forces.	"Uzi 11 is engaged, defending"
Fast	GROUP is at or faster than 600 Kts ground speed. Used as a fill in on BRAA and B/E calls.	"Magic, north lead group bullseye 2-0-0, 67, 35 000, track east, hostile two contacts, fast"
Flank	Track direction of a GROUP, pointed 30 - 60 degrees off of friendly. Enemy version of CRANK. Used as a fill in on BRAA and B/E calls.
Fox #	Indicates launch of friendly missile. 1 for semi-active, 2 for IR seeking, 3 for active.
Furball	Non-friendly and friendly aircraft are merged together.
Gorilla	Large formation of undiscernable number and formation, not commonly used.
Green	Direction of no known enemy threats.	"Uzi 11, magic, green north west"
Group	Any number of contacts within 3NM of each other.
High	GROUP is at or above forty thousand feet. Used as a fill in on BRAA and B/E calls.	"Magic south lead group bullseye 2-3-0, 81, 41 000, track east, hostile, fast"
Hostile	GROUP is confirmed as enemy, has reached engagement criteria.
Hot	Track direction of a GROUP, is pointing right at friendly fighter. May be used as a fill in on BRAA and B/E calls dependent on controller.
Husky	Active missile has attained High Pulse Repetition Frequency (HPRF), no longer requires support from the launching fighter.	"Uzi 11, husky, out south"
In	Turning towards known threat. Opposite of OUT.	"Uzi 11, in north"
Leaker	Airborne threat that has passed through friendly defences.
Leaning on	GROUP is showing bias towards a friendly element.	"Uzi 11, Magic, group BRAA 3-5-0, 45, 23 000, hot, hostile, leaning on you"
Locked	RADAR lock on target, SORT and TARGETING are not assumed.
Maddog	Visual active missile shot, with no previous lock.
Magnum	Launch of a friendly anti-radiation missile.	"Uzi 11, magnum SA-6, Krymsk"
Merge / Merged	Friendly and hostile forces have entered the visual arena.	"Uzi 11, Magic, merged two, 25 000"
Mud	RWR indications of a surface threat locking on. See DIRT and SINGER.	"Uzi 11, Mud 8, Khasab"
Naked	No RWR indications.	"Uzi 11 is naked, in right"
Out	Turning away from known threat. Opposite of IN.	"Uzi 11, pitbull lead group, out south"
Pig(s)	Friendly launch of glide weapons, such as the JSOW.	"Uzi 11, pigs away, Khasab"
Pitbull	Active missile has attained Medium Pulse Repetition Frequency (MPRF), no longer requires support from the launching fighter.	"Uzi 11, pitbull leadgroup, out west"
Range	Picture Label describing two groups seperated in distance, along the same line of bearing	"Magic, new picture, two groups range 15, track east, lead group bullsye 0-7-5, 10, 20 000, hostile two contacts, south group bullseye 0-8-0, 26, 30 000, hostile"
Raygun	RADAR lock onto unknown aircraft.	"Uzi 11 raygun bullseye 0-9-0, 50, 30 000"
Remington	No ordnance remaining other than gun / self protection munitions.	"Uzi 11 is remington, egressing south west"
Rifle	Launch of a friendly A/G missile.	"Hawg 01, rifle SA-8, Khasab"
SAM	Visual on a surface to air missile launch.	"Uzi 11, SAM launch Jask!"
Singer	RWR indications of surface threat missile launch. See DIRT and MUD.	"Uzi 11, singer 2, defending south"
Skosh	Aircraft is out of / no longer able to employ active missiles.	"Uzi 11 skosh, requesting RTB"
Sniff	Passive sensor indications of a RADAR emitter. Artificial on Hoggit servers.	"Magic, single group bullseye 0-8-5, 56, 27 000, track west, hostile two contacts, sniff Flanker"
Splash / Splashed	Target destroyed, weapons impact.	"Uzi 11 splash lead group!"
Target	Assignment of targeting responsibilities.	"Uzi 11, Magic, target lead group bullseye 2-8-4, 75, 29 000, track west, hostile"
Targeted	Fighter has acquired assigned GROUP and has assumed responsibility for engagement.	"Uzi 11 targeted trail group"
Timeout	Launched missile has reached end of its projected flight path, and should have reached termination.	"Uzi 11 timeout west group"
Trashed	Friendly launched missile defeated.	"Uzi 11 broke lock, shot trashed"
Trespass	Addressed flight has entered threat range of a surface threat.	"Uzi 11 trespass 6, bullseye 3-0-0, 25"
Tumbleweed	Unit has limited to no situational awareness, and requires information.	"Uzi 11 is tumbleweed, Magic, Bogeydope"
Vanished	GROUP has faded, however, has been correlated to a missile shot.	"Magic, lead group vanished"
Vic	Picture label with three groups, with a single group leading, and two groups trailing in azimuth.	"Magic, new picture, three group vic, 20 deep, 20 wide, track east, lead group bullseye 2-7-4, 54, 20 000 hostile, north trail group 30 000 hostile, south trail group 28 000 hostile"
Winchester	Aircraft is out of all munitions.	"Uzi 11 is winchester, RTB"

Carrier Brevity

Work in progress, please standby!

ATC / Flight Terminology

Work in progress, please standby!

Miscelaneous Codewords and Abbreviations

Please find below a list of miscellaneous terms and abbreviations you may hear on Hoggit servers. CTRL+F is your friend!

Brevity	[Expand] Meaning
(Number) o´clock	General direction relative to you, as on a clock face: 12 is ahead, 6 is rear, 3 & 9 are left & right
(Rate of) Closure	Relative rate of approaching aircraft, with respect to your own aircraft
(V)ID	Call to identify the target, (Visual) Identification
AAA	Anti-Aircraft Artillery
AAR	Air-to-Air Refueling
Abort (abort abort)	Cease action / attack / event / mission
ACM	Air Combat Maneuvering
Active	Missile that has its own on-board radar transmitter and receiver for targetting
AGL	Above Ground Level, obtained from radar altimeter. Moves with ground, such as going over a mountain
AGM	Air-to-Ground Missile
Alert 5	Aircraft on carrier that are on five minute standby for launch, to provide rapid backup
AMRAAM	Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile
Anchor(ed)	Hold at current / indication position
Angels	Height of friendly aircraft in thousands (1000) of feet from mean sea level (MSL): Angels 21 equals 21,000 feet MSL
AOA	Angle Of Attack, the relation between the air hitting the plane and the direction of travel
ARM	Anti-Radiation missile
ASL	Above Sea Level, requires you to know altimeter pressure setting for the barometric altimeter readout
Asleep	Enemy SAM is not active and is not expecting friendly units
AWACS	Airborne Warning and Control System
Awake	Enemy SAM isactive and is expecting friendly units
Bandit	Confired enemy
BDA	Battle Damage Assesment, check to see what damage your weapons did
Bearing	Given direction on a compass, for example when spotting a target: contact bearing 123°
Bent	Broken item on the aircraft: 'The radar is bent'
BFM	Basic Fighter Maneuvering
Bingo	Minimum fuel state needed for recovery to (air)base
Bingo on the ball (aka Trick or Treat)	Aircraft is running out of fuel, so this will be last landing attempt, before diverting to a nearby airfield
Bittersweet / blue on blue	Friendly units (accidentally) engaging other friendly units
Blind	No (visual) contact on the target ( / friendly) unit
Bogey	Unidentified aircraft (could be hostile or friendly)
Bogey Dope	Request for target information to nearest (or specified) group, in BRAA
Bolter	Aircraft during carrier landing has failed to catch an arresting wire, thus needing to try and land again
BRA(A)	Bearing, Range, Altitude, (Aspect: Hot, Flanking or Cold)
BRC	Base Recovery Course
Break (direction)	Call to move in indicated direction, in a high G turn
Broken Arrow	Direct all nearby aircraft to the transmitter to provide emergency fire support, troops are being overrun
Buddy	Confirmed friendly
Buddy (spike)	Response to 'Raygun'; Friendly unit is actively locking on to me,
Bugout	Moving out in specified direction with no intent to reengage / return
BVR	Beyond Visual Range
CAP	Combat Air Patrol, (supporting other units in the area by) engaging hostiles in air-to-air
CAS	Close Air Support, (supporting other units in the area by) engaging ground targets
CBU	Cluster Bomb Unit (Mk-20 Rockeye, CBU-87, CBU-97)
CCZ	Carrier Controlled Zone
Cease (action)	Discontinue, stop (cease fire means stop shooting)
CG	Center of Gravity
Chaff	Counter measure against radar missiles, kind of similar to glitter on steroids
Check six	Look behind you
Cherubs	Altitude in hundreds (100) of feet: Cherubs 5 is 500 feet
Clara	Pilot has no visual on the 'meatball' or IFLOLS, used for glideslope when landing on a carrier
Cleared Hot	Ordinance release / attack is authorized
Cloak / lights off	Turn off lights so that only NVG lights are shown on the aircraft
Combat Spread	Aircraft flying line abreast, with a decent amount of seperation to avoid all getting hit at once (100 - 300 feet)
Commit	Intercept group of interest, begin the action
Contact	Unit detected at <relative point (you, bullseye, other)>, <BRA>, <hot / cold / flanking>
Contact	Detected unit
Course	Actual direction of travel in degrees on compass; North 0°, East 90°, South 180°, West 270°
Covey Launch	Simultaneous launch of multiple aircraft from the carrier
Cranking	Flanking the enemy whilst keeping them locked up in the gimbal edges of the radar
Danger close	Friendly units are in close proximity of the target and are likely to be in the splash zone of the weapon
Declare	Identify specified group or track(ed target)
Defensive / defending	Maneuvering to avoid threat (typically a missile)
Departing (the envelope)	Leaving / flying outside aircraft limits, aircraft has become uncontrollable
Drag	Any impedance to the aicraft's forward movement through the air
Ease Guns to Land	Pulling the throttles back on carrier landing (never do this)
ECM	Electronic Counter-Measures, to distort the (radar) signals / systems of the enemy
Engage	Commence attack, fire control order
EW	Electronic Warfare
Eyeball	Visual (EO) or infrared acquisition of a target
Faded	Radar contact is lost on previously acquired target
Feet dry	Over land
Feet wet	Over water
Fence	Set cockpit switches as appropriate before entering / exiting the combat area
Fence In	Entering enemy controlled airspace (during mission), set weapons hot
Fence Out	Leaving enemy airspace (during mission), weapons can be set to cold
Firewall	Push the throttles all the way forward, for maximum engine power output
Flanking	Target is heading in a ± 45 degree angle, in a effort to crank / notch you
Flight	Group of airplanes in a tasking / mission
Flight Envelope	Performance limits of an aircraft
Flight Level (FL)	Flight altitude in hundreds of feet; FL 500 is 50,000 feet MSL
Fox # (short, medium, long)	Shooting a missile
Fox 1	Semi-active radar-guided missile: homes onto reflected radar waves emitted from launch aircraft
Fox 2	Infrared-guided missile, homes in on (engine) heat from the targeted unit
Fox 3	Active radar-guided missile: first homes on reflected radar like semi-active, then activates its own small radar
Fox 4 / Guns, guns, guns	Firing guns
Furball / clusterfuck	Indicating known friendly and non-friendly aircraft in close proximity to each other, such as during a dogfight
GBU	General purpose Bomb Unit (Mk-82, Mk-82, GBU-12)
GCI	Ground Controller Intercept
Gimbal (limit)	Limits on a sensor operating range, such as the radar or targetting pod
Group	Number of targets close together, typically heading in the same direction
Heading	Where my aircraft is pointing on a compass
Hold fire	Do not shoot, destroy already launched missiles / weapons
Hook	Cue sensor (targetting pod, radar) towards the directed target of interest
Hostile	Contact identified as enemy, with clearance to fire
Hot / cold	Hot means the contact has the nose pointed towards you, cold means he is going away from you
HOTAS	Hands On Throttle And Stick
HUD	Heads-Up Display
IFF	Identification Friend or Foe; determining if the target is hostile or friendly
IFR	Instrument Flight Rules: flying with your aircraft instruments in bad weather conditions
ILS	Instrument Landing System
IMC	InterMediate Conditions; bad weather
In the goo	In the clouds, limited visibility
JDAM	Joint Direct Attack Munition, typically GPS guided (GBU-31, GBU-38)
Jink(ing)	Unpredictable maneuvers to negate a tracking solution or lock
JSOW	Joint StandOff Weapon, glidebomb etc. (AGM-154)
Level flight	Not climbing or descending
Laser On	Call to begin laser illumination (Use this if your buddy is lasing for your munitions).
Lasing	You have begun laser illumination
Level wings	Not banking or rolling
Maddog	Active missile is launched where its radar is immediately turned on, engaging the first target it sees
Magnum	Anti-radiation missile launch
Mark your father / mom	Give position relative to the carrier: aircraft number, bearing and range
Marking	Contrailing (smoking) / In contrailing altitude: typically > 25,000 and < 40,000 feet
Markpoint	Designated point of interest, typically within the datalink / sensor system
Merge(d)	Friendlies and targets are in the same visual arena / geographical location
Mil Power	The maximum amount of thrust from a jet engine without engaging the afterburner
Mother, Boat, Bingo Field	Aircraft Carrier
Mud / Spike	Radar is locking you up, mud denotes ground radar
Music	Use of jamming to deny being locked up, either by you, friend, or foe
Nails	RWR contact in search mode
Naked	No RWR or (radar) information on enemy
No joy	No (visual) contact on the target ( / enemy) unit; opposite of 'Tally'
Notching	Flying perpendicular to the aircraft attacking you with radar (missiles) to try and spoof the radar (missile)
On station	Unit has reached assigned location
Oops	What you say after you let an SU-27 get on your wingman's six o'clock
Orbit(ing)	Hold current / indicated position, typically in a circular orbit above the indicated location
Overshoot	Being forced out in front of an opposing aircraft, most likely due to having too much airspeed
Package	Group of different aircraft combined to perform a single mission
Padlocked	Crew cannot takes eyes off the target without losing it
Passive	Receiving signals without needing to emit your own signals to obtain data
Payload	Usefull loadout of an aircraft, including ordinance, fuel, etc.
Pickle	(Cluster / General-purpose) Bomb Unit release
Picture	Request for AWACS to provide air information / air overview relevant to mission
Pitbull	Missile has gone active (turned on its own radar)
Pk	Probability of kill
Pop-up	Units have suddenly appeared
Press	Pushing on to the enemy you are engaging (shortly)
PRF	Pulse Repetition Frequencies
Pucker Factor	Method of rating (dangerous) missions, from 0 to 10 (0 being the lowest, 10 being the highest)
Punch out	To eject from the airplane
Radar (Radio Detection And Ranging)	A pulsed beam of energy used to scan for, detect, and return information about a target
Raygun	Locking up an unknown target, querying the IFF response from friendly units
Rejoin	Return to close formation flight
Rifle	Air to ground missile launch
ROE	Rules Of Engagement, dicates how you are to engage targets (ie return fire only)
RWR	Radar Warning Receiver, reads and presents current radar signals spiking your aircraft
SAM	Surface-to-Air Missile
SAM (direction)	Visual acquisition of SAM in flight or SAM launch, including position reference
Section	Flights are divided into sections of 2 - 3 aircraft (similar to fireteams in a squad)
Semi-active	(Missile) Has its own radar receiver, but targets reflected radar waves / illumination from the host aircraft
Shack	Weapons impact on ground (unit)
Situational Awareness (SA)	Knowing what is going around you at all times: where are enemies, where are friendlies, is my six clear?
Sparkle	IR Pointer (from a Targetting Pod)
Spike	Threat on the RWR receiver: 'Badger 1-1 has an SA-10 spike at twelve o'clock'
Splash(ed)	Enemy target hit/destroyed
Stack	Two or more contacts are in close together (in a group)
Stall	Due to high / low AOA, the maximum lift capability is exceeded, resulting in an abrupt loss of lift
Status	Report situation
STOVL	Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing
Tally (Ho)	Recognition of an enemy unit; opposite of 'No Joy'
TFR	Terrain Following Radar
TLAR	That Looks About Right; winging it
Trashed	Missile has been defeated
VFR	Visual Flight Rules; fly by your eyesight when it is clear enough to see
Visual	Recognition of an friendly unit or (landmark) object
VTOL	Vertical Take-Off and Landing
Wilco	Will Comply with received instructions
Winchester	No ordinance (missiles, bombs) remaining
WVR	Within Visual Range
Zulu (time)	GMT+0, Greenwich Time

Reference Documents

Please see below for more comprehensive documents outlining NATO and U.S. operational brevity code-words.

https://www.marines.mil/Portals/1/Publications/MCRP%203-30B.1.pdf?ver=2020-06-05-090226-063

http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a404426.pdf

http://nato.radioscanner.ru/files/article140/brevity_words_app7e_.pdf